Hartford Business Journal

November 1, 2021

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17 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | NOVEMBER 1, 2021 TOTAL PROJECT SIZE: 18,500 SF Building For Your Success SUNRUN ROCKY HILL CT For this project, we recently renovated Sunrun's new corporate office in Rocky Hill CT. With the location formally existing as two separate facilities, we joined them together to fit the specific design our client desired. This renovation included finished offices, and a warehouse specifically designed for their needs. Completed to their timeline, the warehouse was fit with racking, loading bays and other necessary amenities. For over 55 years, PDS has always built relationships based on trust, efficiency and transparency to provide the highest quality end result. SPOTLIGHT ON: OFFICES 107 Old Windsor Road, Bloomfield, CT 06002 | 860.242.8586 | pdsec.com THINK • PLAN • BUILD machines that will be used to install fiber optic cable throughout the community. New opportunities By the end of 2022, SiFi expects to have fiber optic projects underway in 30 cities. Central to its business model is the open access concept. Though still uncommon in the U.S., open access systems have been held up by some industry figures and municipal planners as a means to deliver faster internet to more people, reduce costs and spur economic development. Knight said SiFi functions somewhat like the operator of an airport, which maintains the physical infrastructure needed to support operations while renting space to the airlines. While there's no guarantee that area telecommunications providers will actually sign on, SiFi has enlisted one company, Flume Internet of New York, to begin offering service once the fiber optic network is up and running. The company acknowledges that it will end up competing against internet providers that do not sign on to the network, and is now reaching out to local multi-tenant buildings and homeowners associations to explain what they say are the benefits of linking up to the open access system. One of those competitors will be Comcast, which has deployed hybrid fiber optic-coaxial lines of its own and argues that it is better equipped to handle long-term maintenance, upgrading, cybersecurity and other aspects of internet service. "We compete everyday with providers that offer different technologies, but customers continue to choose Comcast because we offer an unparalleled internet experience that includes gigabit speeds across our footprint, the best Wi-Fi coverage and controls in the home and a network of more than 20 million Wi-Fi hotspots," said Kristen Roberts, vice president of communications at Comcast. "We have invested billions in our network to make broadband widely available to more homes and businesses than anyone for decades, including in East Hartford — where gigabit speeds have been available for years." A boon to business SiFi says it's model will ultimately lower costs for customers in part because it charges a flat rate to internet service providers, which would in theory make pricing more transparent and force the providers to innovate to attract users. Having physical infrastructure ready to tap into would also remove the often prohibitive cost providers face when looking into new markets, making it easier for more companies to compete in the same region. The company champions fiber as a higher bandwidth upgrade from standard copper cables, and better to attract investment. "A fiber optic network can be a real boon to a local economy and can serve as a radiating hub for a lot of job growth and opportunity," Knight said. He offered the example of Chattanooga, Tennessee, which in 2011 became the first city in the U.S. to install a fiber system. The local government initially expected to attract a major employer on par with Google, he said, but the network proved more effective in creating an ecosystem that allowed small businesses to scale up and grow. The city has seen $2 billion worth of economic impact from the project. "Connecticut has a real opportunity with East Hartford," Knight said. "It's relatively affordable and it's a good place for younger people to put down roots and work. And that's going to be the future of how we think about economic development." A specialized microtrenching machine that will help crews install the fiber optic cable supporting East Hartford's new broadband network. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED

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